UN nuclear agency begins three-day inspection in Iran

Some Iranian students gather as they protest at the Imam Khomini’ airport in Tehran on January 29, 2012 during the arrival of the team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. The IAEA team arrived on a mission to clear up what it called 'outstanding substantive issues' on Tehran's nuclear programme, the official IRNA news agency said. The UN atomic watchdog's chief inspector, the Belgian Herman Nackaerts, is leading the IAEA delegation that is scheduled to hold talks with Iranian officials from later Sunday to Tuesday, the report added.

Credit:

ATTA KENARE

United Nations nuclear agency officials have begun a three-day inspection in Iran to determine if the country has a secret atomic weapons program.

The findings from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s visit to Iran will heavily influence the direction the US and West will take in curbing Tehran ability to enrich uranium, the Associated Press reported.

"We are looking forward to start with a dialogue, a dialogue that is overdue since very long," chief inspector Herman Nackaerts said.

Although the IAEA’s plan has remained unclear of where and with whom the team will be seeing, Al Jazeera reported they will likely meet Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saedi Jalili and atomic chief Fereydoun Abbasi.

The AP said the IAEA team will likely visit an underground enrichment site in the outskirts of Qom – the location Tehran said had begun the enrichment process in January.

Iran announced it will cooperate with the IAEA but refused to end its enrichment program amid pressure from Washington to do so. Iran their nuclear enrichment program will be used solely to generate electricity and for medical research.

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